New Delhi: The Congress party, which had been so far involved in trying to protect its Gujarat MLAs from being ‘poached’, has now moved its Rajasthan MLAs to a resort, expressing concerns about the opposition’s attempt to “destabilise” the state government.
The move comes days ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled to be held on 19 June.
The Congress has 107 MLAs, six of whom shifted from Mayawati’s BSP to the party last year. The party also has the support of 13 independent MLAs in the assembly, which has a total of 200 seats.
Earlier this week, party’s chief whip in the assembly, Mahesh Joshi, had written to Alok Tripathi, director-general of the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau, alleging that attempts were being made to destabilise the government.
“Dirty attempts are being made to lure our MLAs and independent MLAs supporting us, along the lines of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, to destabilise a democratically elected government that is dedicated to public service,” the letter stated.
The BJP, which has 72 MLAs and the support of six independents in the assembly, has fielded two candidates — Rajendra Gehlot and Onkar Singh — for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
To win, each candidate requires 51 first preference votes, and hence the BJP can only win one seat with its current strength. But the party has fielded another candidate, triggering fears of defections in the ruling camp.
A total of three Rajya Sabha seats are up for election in Rajasthan. The Congress has named K.C. Venugopal and Dalit leader Neeraj Dangi as its two candidates.
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Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has alleged that the BJP is trying to offer Rs 25 crore to each Congress MLA. The party also sent its chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala to meet the MLAs Thursday.
“He has come here to observe what is happening, and what are the ways in which the MLAs have been approached by the BJP,” a senior Rajasthan Congress leader told ThePrint.
Rajasthan is the latest state where the Congress is finding itself troubled waters — after what transpired in Madhya Pradesh earlier this year and Karnataka last year.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Kamal Nath-led Congress government fell in March after senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia switched to the BJP along with 22 of his loyalist MLAs. In July last year, the H.D. Kumaraswamy government collapsed in Karnataka after 16 MLAs and two independents supporting it resigned.
The BJP has, however, taken objection to the Congress’ allegations.
State BJP president Satish Poonia said the Congress was “putting a stain on the party to cover up its failure”. “It is surprising that those who played the game of horse trading for 55 years are blaming BJP. They have their internal differences,” Poonia told PTI.
Rajya Sabha polls latest bone of contention
In Gujarat, too, the Congress has shifted its MLAs to different resorts within and outside the state to keep its flock together.
There are four Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs in Gujarat in what is promising to be a tight race amid allegations of poaching. Last week, three Congress MLAs quit the party.
In the 2017 Gujarat state elections, the Congress had won 77 seats while the BJP won 99 seats, securing a narrow win in the 182-member House. However, with several Congress MLAs quitting or switching sides since the election results, the party count has now reduced to just 65 MLAs.
Now, the Rajasthan Congress is struggling with the same fears.
“This is a cautionary measure we had to opt for. There is a high possibility the BJP will try to swoop in at the last minute and do what it did in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka,” the leader quoted above said .“But we will try our best that the same story doesn’t get repeated in Rajasthan.”
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CONGRESS HAD A LONG HISTORY OF OFFERING GOVERNANCE TO THOSE WHO JUST BEING THE CLOSEST ONE INSTEAD OF OFFERING IT TO ONE WHO HAS A LOYALTY TOWARDS HIS COUNTRY ,JUST BECAUSE CONGRESS FEAR , THAT IF THE SECOND ONE WILL FORM THE GOVERNMENT THEN OUR MOTIVE TO DICTATE OUR TERMS AND GRASP THE WHOLE MONEY WONT NE ABLE TO WORK…THE SHIFTINGS OF MLA’S WHICH HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE IN SOME OF THE STATES WILL OBVIOUSLY CONTINUE COZ THEY R REALIZING NOW THAT THEY WONT GET THEIR CHANCE TO SHOW THEIR LOYALTY FOR THE COUNTRY AS THEY CAN’T FORM GOVT IN ANY WAY IN THIS BULLSIT PARTY WHICH JUST SUPPORTS THE FOOT LICKERS TO HAVE A GOVERNANCE…PLZ STOP BEING SO DICTATORIAL COZ NOW IT WILL NEVER WORK IN THIS CENTURY BECAUSE IT’S NOT UR INDIRA GANDHI OR NEHRU RULE THAT IT WILL SUPPRESSE THE PEOPLE JUST ON A FEELING OF PSEUDO GREATNESS AND THAT FAKE ROLE OF URS WHICH WAS PLAYED BY U ALL IN THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE WHERE U ALL SNATCHED THE WORKS OF SARDAR JI BHAGAT SINGH JUST TO HV UR RULE OVER HERE INFACT IN MY EYES U ALL ARE CULPRITS AND WILL REMEIN FOR EVER…AND UR ALL STAINS
JAI
CONGRESS HAD A LONG HISTORY OF OFFERING GOVERNANCE TO THOSE WHO JUST BEING THE CLOSEST ONE INSTEAD OF OFFERING IT TO ONE WHO HAS A LOYALTY TOWARDS HIS COUNTRY JUST BECAUSE CONGRESS FEAR THAT IF THE SECOND ONE WILL FORM THE GOVERNMENT THEN OUR MOTIVE TO DICTATE OUR TERMS AND GRASP THE WHOLE MONEY WONT NE ABLE TO WORK…THE SHIFTINGS OF MLA’S WHICH HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE IN SOME OF THE STATES WILL OBVIOUSLY CONTINUE COZ THEY R REALIZING NOW THAT THEY WONT GET THEIR CHANCE TO SHOW THEIR LOYALTY FOR THE COUNTRY AS THEY CAN’T FORM GOVT IN ANY WAY IN THIS BULLSIT PARTY WHICH JUST SUPPORTS THE FOOT LICKERS TO HAVE A GOVERNANCE…PLZ STOP BEING SO DICTATORIAL COZ NOW IT WILL NEVER WORK IN THIS CENTURY BECAUSE IT’S NOT UR INDIRA GANDHI OR NEHRU RULE THAT IT WILL SUPPRESSE THE PEOPLE JUST ON A FEELING OF PSEUDO GREATNESS AND THAT FAKE ROLE OF URS WHICH WAS PLAYED BY U ALL IN THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE WHERE U ALL SNATCHED THE WORKS OF SARDAR JI BHAGAT SINGH JUST TO HV UR RULE OVER HERE INFACT IN MY EYES U ALL ARE CULPRITS AND WILL REMEIN FOR EVER…AND UR ALL STAINS
JAI HIND🇨🇮
@#$
Congress had a long history of offering governance to the closer one instead of offering to those who have been loyal to party and had a honest intention towards the citizens….then all those shiftings of mlas which had been taking place in some states like mp,gujrat,karnataka and now rajasthan will obviously continue coz they r realizing now that the one who is being a slave of that party is offered more than the one who have a democratic intention….towards the country….plz stop being so much dictatorial just because ur party is one of the oldest in our politics our country will never accept you as in this form.
Congress had a long history of offering governance to the closer one instead of offering to those who have been loyal to party and had a honest intention towards the citizens….then all those shiftings of mlas which had been taking place in some states like mp,gujrat,karnataka and now rajasthan will obviously continue roz they r realizing now that the one who is being a slave is offered more than the one who have a democratic intention….
I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND THIS CHEAP ATTITUDE OF OUR POLITICIANS OF BUYING AND SELLING. ARE THEY HUMAN BEINGS OR SOME COMMODITY PRODUCT TO BE CONSUMED? TRANSFERRING MLAs TO HOTELS , RESORTS, VILLAS AND PALACES . ARE THEY GOVERNMENT PROPERTIES OR WHAT? WHO PAY FOR ALL THIS NONSENSE? WHEN VOTERS VOTE A PERSON TO BE THEIR SERVANT THEN, THEY ALSO REMEMBER THE POLITICAL PARTY OF THAT PERSON WHO WANT TO BE THE SERVANT OF VOTERS AND SERVE THEM FOR THEIR BETTERMENT. NOW, IF THAT PERSON CHANGES HIS CONTRACTOR PARTY FOR WHICH HE/SHE GOT SO MUCH VOTES THEN , IT IS A SERIOUS FRAUD WITH THE VOTERS. THIS IS FAKE DEMOCRACY THEN. WHY DOESNT OUR SUPREME COURT AND OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM PUT A STOP ON THIS BUYING AND SELLING OF ELECTED SERVANTS ? NOW, INSTEAD OF SERVING THE VOTERS AND WORKING FOR THEM , THEY ARE RELAXING IN FIVE STAR RESORTS AND CURRENTLY HOLDING SOME HUGE MONETARY VALUE . BUT THE ULTIMATE LOSS IS SUFFERED BY THE VOTER WHO VOTED TO CHOOSE QUALITY SERVANTS IN EXPECTATION OF GETTING SERVED BETTER.
THIS WHOLE SYSTEM OF BUYING AND SELLING OF ELECTED SERVANTS MUST BE BANNED AND STOPPED. THE PERSONS WHO WANT TO BE THE SERVANTS SHOULD DECIDE BEFORE ELECTIONS THROUGH WHICH CONTRACTUAL PARTY THEY WANT TO BE ELECTED AND DO SERVING TO THE VOTERS. THEY SHOULD BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE POSITION OF SERVANT AND ALL THEIR WAGES , PERKS AND OTHER BENEFITS ATTACHED WITH THEIR JOB MUST BE ABOLISHED AT ONCE. I DONT FEEL LIKE LIVING IN A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY ANYMORE. INDIAN DEMOCRACY IS RIGGED ,FAKE AND FULL OF COMPLEXITIES.